Haunted
by JB Blackwood
Summary: Esteban's parents may have been dead, but they still loved their son more than anything, even when he confesses to an unthinkable betrayal. They only wished they could ease his tormented mind. Pre-series, first year of the Shuriki Era.


_No clue what Esteban's parents' names are so I just made something up. If the show ever reveals their names, I'll change them to reflect that._

 _Lo siento = "I'm sorry" ;_ _Perdóname = "Forgive me"_

* * *

 **Haunted**

He was drunk. Alejandro and Victoria watched as their son stumbled up to their grave, a half-empty bottle of wine in his hand. It was late, everyone else in the city having gone home after their _Dia de los Muertos_ outings.

" _Hola_ , Mama, Papa," Esteban said, busting into a fit of laughter. He collapsed onto the ground, lazily adjusting himself to prop himself up against the monument. He chuckled at himself for a long while, his parents frowning worriedly at him from just above his head. He had never visited them before in this state. His hair wasn't fixed and his shirt wasn't even tucked in.

"I can hear Abuela yelling at me now to clean up like a good boy," Esteban laughed before taking another swig of his wine. "Don't want to embarrass Mama and Papa at our visit, she'd say."

He sighed deeply once he got all the giggles out. He stared up at the night sky quietly for such a long time that his parents thought he'd fallen asleep.

"Do...you think they hate me?" he asked in a very slow, thoughtful tone.

His parents exchanged a confused glance.

"I did help..." Esteban clenched a fist, dropping his head down. "I may as well have killed them myself."

Alejandro shrugged when his wife gave him a questioning look. They only came to the mortal realm once a year after all. Of course they were aware of the fact that Raul and Lucia, the king and queen, were now part of the afterlife. The details surrounding their deaths, however, not even the former majesties were aware of.

Victoria frowned when Esteban started to cry. She floated down to his level, her eyes sad as she reached a ghostly hand out. She ached inside at being unable to wipe his tears away, even if he was a grown man now.

"I can't...even visit their grave," Esteban said mournfully. "The dirt's still fresh, you know...they'd probably curse me if I came by. It would serve me right. I deserve worse after...that witch is here because of me, after all."

Things suddenly fell into place. Victoria silently gasped, gripping her husband's hand tightly. Alejandro only sighed, closing his eyes. To hear your child admit that he's damned the family was not something any parent wanted to hear.

"Maybe I should...just die," Esteban suddenly said. "Yes, I'll die right here. End it all now."

His parents' eyes grew big when Esteban stood up, using their gravestone to pull himself up with. "I can...bash my head against this...maybe I'm so drunk that I won't feel it too much."

His mother mouthed "no!", her hand stretching out as if to stop him. Alejandro stopped her, shaking his head at her with a desolate look on his face. It was hopeless to imagine that they could stop him from doing anything to himself.

"Or maybe I can throw myself into the sea..." the young man kept talking. "They'd say I was attacked and disposed of by thieves...yes, that could work."

His mother began to weep, his father not able to stop himself from shedding his own tears. They may have been dead but that did not stop them from saying a prayer, hoping their son's soul would be spared.

Esteban stood there shakily for a minute or so, his parents waiting in suspense to see what he would do. At last he smashed the wine bottle he had with him, pointing the sharp edges of the glass against his throat. His father shielded his wife's eyes to spare her the sight.

Their son grit his teeth, his hand trembling. Alejandro held his crying wife tight, never having wished so hard that he could communicate with the living. After an agonizing minute had passed, Esteban yelled in frustration, throwing the glass into some nearby bushes. He lowered himself to the ground, crying even harder than he had been earlier.

" _Lo siento...lo siento, perdóname..."_ he begged, covering his face in shame.

Victoria pried herself out of her husband's arms, floating down to the ground to wrap her arms around her distressed son. Even if he couldn't sense her presence, it made her feel less useless. Alejandro sat down beside the two of them, smiling sadly at the memory of seeing his wife rock their infant son to sleep so many years ago. Victoria hummed a tune she used to sing, the couple sitting with their son as he apologized over and over until he finally went to sleep.

Midnight came at last and thus so did the end of _Dia de los Muertos._ Esteban's mother kissed his cheek, his father patting him gently on the back. They held hands, reluctantly disappearing back into the heavens for another year. The last thing they saw before leaving the mortal realm was some royal guards riding up in a carriage, collecting Esteban from the cemetery to take him back to the palace. All they could do was hope for their son's well-being.


End file.
